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Female fans normally know more facts about what’s going on than men do anyway. I’d say they’re a more intelligent fan on top of that. They normally know more about what we’ve done than we know about what we’ve done. --- Tony Stewart

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There are female fans who take apart engines and will take you apart if you have a problem with that; who are drawn to the danger and mystery of the sport; who watch races on TV to witness pure passion and unscripted emotion; who love the camaraderie of these family-friendly festivals; who feel the nervous anxiety of the lip-biting wives atop the pit boxes. --- Andrew Giangola “The Weekend Starts on Wednesday”

Carl Edwards collected the the Coors Light Pole Award Saturday afternoon for the 20th Annual Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, his first of the season and second at the track. He also scored the custom Henry rifle that accompanies that achievement.

“This is fun, guys,” Edwards pronounced to the media. “The car was sliding around. If I missed the corner entry a little bit, I could adjust and get the car to turn where I wanted it to… We haven’t raced yet, but I have a feeling this is going to be a lot of fun.”

Edwards’ lap of 194.609 mph in the No. 19 Stanley Toyota topped Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr., who put up identical speeds of 193.306 mph. Logano took the tiebreaker by virtue of his standing in owner points.

Though he was glad to get a front-row starting position and a good pit stall, Logano expressed disappointment at missing the opportunity to get the Henry rifle that goes with the first-place start.
“I wanted the shotgun to go with the six-shooters I got here a couple of years ago,” Logano said.

Truex Jr. thought he had a shot at the pole, too.

“We missed it a little bit from yesterday,” said Truex Jr. “I thought we were really good yesterday and the track was a little faster today and moved on us a little bit. I felt like we had a shot at the pole today, but the 19 (Carl Edwards) put a heck of a lap down, so proud for him.”

The highest-qualifying rookie and the highest-qualifying Chevy, Chase Elliott, will roll off fourth in the No. 24 NAPA machine, his best start since he began the season with the Daytona 500 pole.

“I’m really proud of the improvements we made from Round 1 all the way through Round 3," Elliott said. "I’m very excited that we made the third round and was able to get a nice top-five starting spot.”

Equaling his best qualifying effort of the season, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. starts fifth, one of five Fords that advanced to the final round.

Both Edwards and Logano look forward to the race under the lights tomorrow, citing tire fall-off, a slick, aged surface on the track and the lower downforce package for adding to their enjoyment in racing at Texas.

Tune in to the Duck Commander 500 Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. Central on FOX, SiriusXM NASCAR Channel 90, or the PRN network.